


Valentine's Snapshots

by ShadowHaloedAngel



Series: Camellia sinensis [11]
Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types
Genre: Cute, Dating, Different kinds of romance, Established Relationship, F/F, F/M, M/M, Snapshots, Valentine's Day, Valentine's Day Fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-02-14
Updated: 2017-02-14
Packaged: 2018-09-24 12:08:06
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,411
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9725699
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ShadowHaloedAngel/pseuds/ShadowHaloedAngel
Summary: Just quick views of how the different couples in the tea-verse spend their Valentine's day. Romance takes all kinds of forms, and this lot are all about finding ways that work for them, whether that's quiet nights in together, or out on the town with booze and food, or chocolate and flowers and balloons.It might not be all that imaginative, but it works for them, and that's what matters.





	

Valentine's day is something which is different for everyone, unique to every couple. It can change as relationships grow and change, and all that really matters is doing something that's right for you, whether that's treating it as just another day or really going all out. 

For the couples in Avengers tower are was a whole range of possibilities. 

Tony and Steve are up in the penthouse. Dinner is takeout, but it's takeout from one of the finest places in the city and they've made the effort to serve it properly. Tony had offered to dress up in a suit, but actually he's there in battered jeans and a grease stained t-shirt while Steve wears sweatpants and a tee that looks like it's been painted on. This isn't about Iron Man and Captain America, and it isn't really about Tony Stark and Steve Rogers. It's just Tony and Steve, eating food they love, spending time together with the world's best sommelier (Dummy with a bow tie around his strut and a helpful attitude). 

They've taken some time to spar together, and followed that with a prolonged joint shower, which was more messy than clean in some respects. After dinner they both know where they're headed, and it's straight to the bedroom. There's no rush to this, no sudden burst of heat, just a banked fire that grows steadily. 

They've negotiated the evening's activities already, and the sheets are new, clean, and very cheap. Steve's watercolours and brushes are by the bed, and Tony is very ready to try being a human canvas. After all, Steve has drawn him so many times before, but painting him is something entirely different. There's something erotic about the feel of it, the delicacy, the sensation of the cool paint and the tickle of the brush and the intent expression Steve always wears when he's focussed entirely on his art. 

A few floors further down we find Pepper and Bruce, cuddled together on the couch with their child asleep in a crib nearby. When they go to bed, they'll tuck her in too. For now though, she's perfectly comfortable and so are they. It's nice to have an evening off mid week, and Pepper had been very emphatic that she was not working tonight. A Stark Industries charity Valentines gala has been arranged for the Friday night. Attendance will likely be higher then, and it gives everyone the chance to spend time with their loved ones. They're both very aware of how much maintenance a healthy relationship can take, and neither of them is in any hurry to skimp on it. 

There's an old movie on the screen, something romantic that neither of them is paying that much attention to. There's no hurry here either, and Pepper is enjoying that just as much as the romance. Time with Bruce is always an escape from what is by its very nature a high pressure job. This feels like a bubble of something precious that she's anxious to savour. 

Bruce made dinner, and she'll handle the dishes. She's not so tired tonight that that's an impossibility. She'll be the one to put Toni down too, because even though Bruce does the stay at home parenting, they switch off on nights because it's still important to have time with her daughter and time to bond properly. 

And then it's bed, after a full body massage, because Bruce gives the best rub downs and he always knows just where she's carrying her tension. This is their time that nobody else can interfere with or judge them for and it's one of the few nights when nobody expects her to be doing anything else. 

Our next stop on the virtual tour would be with Jane and Thor. Thor really went all out to do things right. He loves Midgardian traditions, and he throws himself into new things one hundred percent. He wrote Jane a poem, he got her flowers, there were chocolates and balloons and all the cliches, and although Jane wants to explain that it's not necessary to get all of them, there's a part of her that recognises the way this is uniquely Thor. They might be store bought, but he put hours into choosing them, making sure to find the pre-written verses which felt like they were from his heart, wanting every detail to be perfect.

Maybe for next year they'll have a discussion about what they both want out of this but for now... even not buying into the romantic-industrial complex, it's difficult to resist the sappy trappings when they're handed over with sincerity, enthusiasm, and a deep deep love by a living incarnation of a god whose resemblance to a golden retriever is more than passing. 

Clint and Phil are also having a night in. Theirs is less classically romantic but it works for them. At this point they're flopped on the couch with beers, and suits in disarray. Clint takes care of making the reservations and arrangements because it's his way of showing his love for Phil. Phil organises everything. Phil's entire life, his career, and a lot of his free time are built around organising other people. He does paperwork, he makes arrangements, he selects venues or flights or hotels and he plans everything meticulously. 

Valentine's is Clint's opportunity to say thank you by giving Phil a night off from having to make any plans at all. He gets to just go with the flow. Now, this is something that does not always come naturally to Phil, but he's getting better at it. He doesn't trust Clint's taste, at all, but that's one of the things he loves about Clint, so he goes along with it and it always ends up being an amazing time. 

This year they dressed up and went out for steak dinner at the best restaurant for steak in town, and then on to a bar with a ball pit in it. Phil had been hugely sceptical, but he'd been won over when Clint won him a stuffed heart with arms and a stupid expression on the claw machine. Clint had a lot of nominally useless talents from his childhood, but they had their moments, and because Phil loved Clint, he loved the things about him that made him Clint too. 

Now they were flopped on the couch in front of an old Western with Clint Eastwood glaring at somebody from under the brim of his hat, ties shed, top buttons undone, sleeves rolled up and ice cold beers within arm's reach. 

There might be hot sex, there might not be. That's a big enough part of their relationship that getting very laid is not, in and of itself, a special occasion. A chance for Clint to take charge and Phil to just go along for the ride though, that's a rare treat, and it's something that both of them enjoy the chance to exchange. 

Natasha and Darcy are the only two not at home for Valentine's. They're still trying to figure out what exactly this thing between them is. They're both very sure about each other, but it's hard to negotiate a relationship. Neither of them is a huge fan of the stereotypical narrative, and Natasha has more than her fair share of trust issues. They're figuring it out though, and the bonus is that both of them know how to have fun. 

This year it was Natasha's turn to figure something out, and that had been hard until she'd reminded herself that she wasn't trying to please some imaginary 'partner' figure who wanted a cookie cutter girlfriend who giggled and smiled and did all the perfect girlfriend things. She was trying to have a good time with Darcy. That was easy. 

Natasha had some contacts and she used them judiciously, and she kept her secrets well. This, however, was a secret she hadn't shared with many people. She deemed Darcy to be ready, though, and that was why the two of them were lying in a steam room, having their muscles massaged to a state of limp noodle that Darcy had never experienced before. There was caramel gelato and tequila just at the edge of their vision, and when they were ready, the wall would disappear to reveal a private shooting range. From Natasha's point of view, it was heaven. And she was pretty sure that, no matter what happened, she wouldn't regret sharing this place with Darcy.

**Author's Note:**

> Now you know the baby's name! Sorry for the lack of proper chapters lately. December didn't get one because I was in a majorly bad place mental health wise. I did start a Christmas oneshot, maybe I'll tickle that up and post it mid year for a bit of seasonal cute to get us through the rougher times. There will be updates again soon, but I can't guarantee a regular update schedule just because I have to put myself first for a while. I'm sure you all understand.
> 
> Thanks for your continuing support with this fic, this whole verse I've somehow created, and I hope you enjoy this. 
> 
> All the best!


End file.
